1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices that facilitate the use of everyday objects by individuals with limited manual dexterity. The present invention relates more specifically to a device that facilitates the use of ordinary keys by individuals that may have difficulty grasping and/or turning a key in a lock or switch.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many individuals with a wide range of physiological and neurological conditions have difficulty handling and manipulating keys. The use of a typical key involves the process of picking the key up, grasping the key appropriately, inserting the key into a lock or switch, and then rotating or turning the key to activate the lock or activate the switch. All of these actions required with the use of a key are quite difficult for those that have little or no manual dexterity.
Some efforts have been made in the past to provide devices and tools for use by those who have difficulty holding ordinary objects in their hands (such as eating utensils) to permit the disadvantaged user to appropriately manipulate the tool or device in a manner that approaches ordinary use. In most cases, such efforts in the past have simply created larger or more gripable handles with friction surfaces that allow the user to engage a loose grip around the device and still utilize it to an extent. None of the previous efforts along these lines, however, have been able to provide a means for properly manipulating an ordinary key in the manner typically required to carry out its full function. The mere attachment of a larger or longer handle to the key does little or nothing for the user's ability to turn the key once it has been inserted into the lock or latch. It is the unique properties of a typical key that require more than simply increasing the size of the grasping surface area to fully permit a disadvantaged user to carry out the functions associated with the use of a key.
It would be desirable, therefore, to have a tool, to which a key might be attached, that provides an individual with low manual dexterity the ability to pick up a key from a flat surface, grasp the key in a manner sufficient to direct its insertion into a lock or switch, rotate or turn the key once it has been inserted into the lock or switch, and finally, to retain the overall key holding device on the user's wrist even if the grip on the device is lost. It would be desirable if such a device could be manufactured from readily available materials that provide the necessary structure and geometry to facilitate each of the actions required with the use of a key.